Relating to human services and juvenile justice including child custody, child in need of assistance, and family in need of assistance proceedings, establishing the department of family stabilization and preservation, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions

A board of family stabilization and preservation and a board of health are created within the respective departments. The services provided by the new departments are currently provided by the department of human services. Division II of the bill amends sections in Code chapter 232 concerning juvenile justice. The bill provides that the department of family stabilization and preservation, not the department of human services, will be responsible for implementing the provisions of that Code chapter including child custody, judicial proceedings, child in need of assistance proceedings, termination of parent-child relationship proceedings, and family in need of assistance proceedings. The bill strikes references in the Code chapter to the department of human services. Division III of the bill calls for the department of human services, in conjunction with the departments of public health and corrections to convene a work group to review current practices, and how those practices can be amended in accordance with the bill to improve child safety and the preservation of families, to establish consistent and statewide practices that promote and ensure effective policies and procedures to address issues associated with intervention of any governmental agency into the private institution of a family, and to ensure that criminal investigations are conducted by law enforcement with child and family services being provided by the department. The work group is required to submit a report to the general assembly by December 1, 2021. Division IV of the bill provides that additional legislation is required to fully implement divisions I and II of the bill, and requires the director of the department of human services to prepare draft legislation for submission to the legislative services agency to implement the transition and elimination of authority of the department of human services and duties under divisions I and II of the bill and to implement the transition and elimination of authority and duties under other provisions of law including but not limited to the duties and authority of the department of human services, juvenile justice, and child and family services, and any division, commission, or subunit of such entities or offices. The bill takes effect July 1, 2022.